Just A Month- Percabeth Fake Dating AU
by Panda1912
Summary: To say that Annabeth is surprised when Percy asks her to fake date him is an understatement. She's even more surprised that she agrees. Time to see whether she can last the month. Sorry, I'm really bad at summaries. Mostly fluff.
1. Prologue- Favour

**This is my first Percabeth fanfic so I hope you enjoy. I've recently been obsessed with Percabeth Fake Dating Aus and I couldn't resist.**

 **Happy Reading, Panda1912**

* * *

Annabeth Chase was not popular and she wasn't unpopular. She was one of those people who were perfectly happy where she was in the social hierarchy of her high school, Half-Blood Hill High, or HBH High for short. She was perfectly happy with her two best friends, Thalia and Piper. The closest she had become to 'popular' was having a locker next to the most popular guy at HBH High. So if there was one thing she could change about HBH High, it was the popular group.

There were three boys in particular that seemed to grate on her nerves in particular. Grover Underwood was probably the least annoying, according to Annabeth. Born with a muscular disease that left him unable to participate in PE, he was quiet and thoughtful but also mischievous and funny. Then came Jason Grace, Thalia's brother. Steady and dependable, he made a great Track Team Captain. For those who knew him though, knew that he was only slightly better than Percy for pranks and jokes. And then came Percy Jackson. Top of the food chain, he had it all. Annabeth had the misfortune of having her locker next to his and knew full well how he was chased by the girls in the school. He was also Swim Captain and given the title of Prank King by his closest friends.

The groups knew each other of course. How could they not with Thalia and Jason being siblings? But it was not only that. The two groups seemed to have a rivalry. I hadn't gone too bad recently but it had been worse in the earlier years. Pranks that went too far and often ended in detention or tears or sometimes both.

So it came as a surprise to Annabeth when Percy asked her a favour.

They were both at their lockers' at the same time, getting books for their next few classes when he spoke. It was low and quiet, despite the fact that the halls were almost empty and no one was listening to their conversation.

"I need you to do me a favour," was what he said.

Annabeth glanced around before realizing that he was talking to her.

"Me?" she asked incredulously.

"Yes," he replied impatiently.

"What do you want Jackson?" she sighed.

"I need you to be my fake girlfriend," he spoke quickly, so fast in fact, that Annabeth was sure that she had misheard him.

"I need you to be my fake girlfriend," he repeated, slightly slower.

"Absolutely not- "

Annabeth was cut off by Percy.

"Come to the Library at break and I'll explain."

With that, he shut his locker, locked it and rushed off down the hall.

* * *

 **Sorry, it's so short, it's more of a Prologue. Hopefully, the coming chapters will be longer and better. Hope you enjoyed it,**

 **Happy Reading, Panda1912**


	2. Chapter 1- Explanation

**Hopefully this will be a longer chapter than one. Special thanks to** _Qwaskie_ **for commenting on my story, it made my day.**

 **Happy Reading, Panda1912**

* * *

After explaining to Thalia and Piper that she had to check something in the library, Annabeth made her way across the school. Pulling open the door, she breathed in the dusty scent of books before looking to see if she could spot Percy. Seeing the messy nest of black hair in the corner, she quietly made her way towards him. He was listening to music but pulled out his earphones when she dropped into the seat next to him. She waited as he turned on the screen of his phone to pause his music and as he did so, she caught sight of the SoundCloud logo. They must've been a small time band, whoever he was listening to because she had never heard of the band _Sugarcane_.

"What're you listening to?" she asked.

"It's called Happiness. It's quite good. Thanks for coming by the way. I wasn't sure you would."

"Neither was I," Annabeth admitted. "How did this happen?"

Percy shifted his weight in the chair, bringing his hand up to ruffle his hair nervously.

"You see, I was talking with the guys, right? And we were doing the usual laughing and joking and then Grover's girlfriend, Juniper, came up in the conversation-"

"Wait. Grover has a girlfriend?" Annabeth asked.

Percy nodded before continuing his story.

"And the guys kept teasing me about not having a girlfriend and kept threathning to set me up with Drew Tanaka. So then I told them that I already _had_ a girlfriend and when they asked who-"

"You said me," Annabeth finished for him.

"Yeah," he said bringing his hand to his hair again.

" _Why_ did you say me?" Annabeth asked, rubbing the bridge of her nose tiredly.

"You see, when Jason asked me who, I didn't want it to be obvious that I was lying, right? So I couldn't just look around the cafeteria, because that would be too obvious, right? And with the angle of how I was looking at Jason, you were right behind him so I said you."

Annabeth cocked her head.

"You say 'right' an awful lot."

"Sorry," Percy offered. "So will you do it?"

"I don't know. What will it require? How long?"

"Just hand holding really. And only for a month-"

"A month!"

"Can you please stop interrupting?" Percy asked impatiently.

Annabeth glared in reply.

"Will you do it? Please?" he begged.

"Fine," she sighed.

"Wait really?" Percy perked up.

Annabeth nodded her head.

"Give me your number," she said, unlocking her phone.

"I'm sorry?" he spluttered.

She rolled her eyes.

"We'll need to sort out details."

"Right. Sorry."

With that, he took her phone and began typing in his number.

He saved it before cocking his head at the screen.

"What?" Annabeth asked him, confused.

"I need a contact photo."

"No you don't," Annabeth retorted.

"People might wonder why you don't have a contact for your boyfriend," he persuaded.

"Fine," she huffed.

He grinned and tapped the screen a few times on her phone. Then he held his hand up in signature selfie-taking stance.

"Get in," he hissed out of the corner of his mouth.

She sighed and rolled her eyes but stood in next to him. He pulled the strangest duck-face she'd ever seen before clicking the camera button.

"Show me," she said, taking the phone of his hands.

She had to admit, it wasn't a bad photo. He was pulling a wacky duck-face at the camera and she was looking at him like he was the weirdest thing on the planet. It _could_ pass for goofy-in-love if they needed it to. She saved the photo as the contact and went to see what Percy had saved himself as.

"My beautiful boyfriend?" she asked aloud, glancing at Percy.

He shrugged slightly, a hint of a grin on his face.

"Fine," she decided, "give me your phone."

He pulled it out of his pocket and passed it over to her. She began typing in her details and pulled away when he tried to see what she was typing.

"You'll see when I'm finished," she scolded him.

She then held up her arm to take her contact photo. She gestured for him to join her as she thought over what pose to do.

"Ready?" she asked him.

She could see him nodding in the camera. She scrunched up her eyes and stuck out her tongue and hit the shutter button. Not allowing Percy to take his phone back, she looked at the photo for inspection. Her eyes were scrunched and her tongue was out. Percy was laughing slightly at her and if she were to be honest, she preferred this picture.

"Here," she said, tearing her eyes away from the picture to hand Percy back his phone.

He nodded approvingly at the picture before looking at what she had set her name as.

"My georgeous girlfriend?" he asked, chuckling slightly.

"Makes sense, with 'beautiful boyfriend'," she replied, unaffected by his laughter.

The bell rang and Annabeth suddenly realised how long she had spent with him. Not that she'd ever admit this, but she hadn't wanted to kill him for most of that time.

"I'll text you more details later," Percy said, bending down to pick up his bag.

"Okay," Annabeth replied awkwardly, not sure how to end their strange meeting.

"See you," he said.

"Bye," she replied, her voice sounding quite small.

She watched as he left the library before picking up her own bag and heading out. She hadn't had time to meet up with Piper or Thalia. She'd come up with an excuse later.

As she made her way to her next class, she felt a kind of sickness in her stomach. She took a deep breath and then a sip of water and opened the door to the classroom.

* * *

 **Hope you enjoyed this first proper chapter. 'Happiness' by _Sugarcane_ is an actual song on SoundCloud, it's really good. Thanks to all who followed and faved, it means a lot,**

 **Panda1912**


	3. Chapter 2- 2am

**Sorry it might be a while since I uploaded. On Monday 16th, Storm Ophelia came to Ireland and knocked down some electricity lines- including mine. I tried writing on Mom's mini laptop but the battery sucked. I tried writing it offline on my phone but when I saved something, I couldn't see it again until I regained internet. So here I am :)**

 **In this, Annabeth's mom's name _is_ Athena but she's not half-Greek unlike Percy. I don't know why...**

 **Plus, I don't know their middle names so I made them up.**

 **This** **is really dialogue-central, because I love writing dialogue in general, but especially for these two.**

 **Thanks to all your comments and support, I loved reading them.**

 **Hope you're enjoying the story,**

 **Panda1912**

* * *

It was precisely 2:07 am when Annabeth got a call. Rolling over she grabbed her phone off the table beside her bed. She promptly groaned as the brightness of her phone hit her eyes. The caller ID read 'My beautiful boyfriend' and with a roll of her eyes, she answered. Before she even had time to say hello or give out to Percy for calling her at this ridiculous hour, his panicked voice came out through her speakers.

"Annabeth, I'm worried."

" _You're_ worried? It was your idea! If anyone's allowed to be worried, it's me."

"Doesn't stop me from being worried," he argued back.

She huffed in reply.

"What's our story going to be?" she asked finally.

"I'm sorry?"

"Our 'meet cute'?" she tried.

"Can you please speak English Chase?"

"How we got together!" she told him.

"Oh that."

"Yes _that_."

There was a pause.

"I dropped my books and since you were at your locker as well, you helped me pick them up and we got talking," Annabeth suggetsed.

"That's so cliche," Percy snorted.

"Do you have a better story?" she challenged.

"Well, no," he admitted.

"What else?" she asked him.

"Um... well, we'll need to know a bit about each other to make it more realistic..." he trailed off.

"What's your favourite colour?" he asked her suddenly.

"Grey," she replied, biting her lip, "what about you?"

"Blue. Favourite animal?"

"An owl," she decided. "Yours?"

Annabeth could hear him shifting uneasily in his bed.

"A horse," he replied finally.

"A _horse?_ " she repeated incredulously.

"Yeah, why?" he asked defensively.

"I can't believe the great Percy Jackson's favourite animal is the horse!"

"What's wrong with horses?"

"Nothing! I'm just surprised. Any reason?"

"I don't know, I just have a way with them."

Annabeth could almost _see_ Percy, scratching the back of the neck nervously.

"Any funny family traits or anything?" she asked him, thinking of her own family.

"My dad's name is Poseidon. He was named after the Greek god," he admitted.

"My mom was named after a Greek myth as well!"

"Helen of Troy?" Percy asked, confused.

"Nah, she's my step-mom," Annabeth replied. "My mom's name is Athena."

"Poseidon and Athena were enemies in the stories," Percy remarked offhand.

Annabeth laughed slightly, surprising herself.

"Was that a laugh?" Percy gasped, mock-shocked.

"How did you even know my step-mom's name is Helen?" she asked, deflecting his joke-question.

"I'm not sure. Maybe Thalia mentioned it?"

Annabeth could _hear_ him frowning.

"I didn't know you knew Thalia that well," she told him.

"We're cousins," he answered.

"Wait. You're cousins with Jason and Thalia?"

"Yep, first cousins."

They lapsed into silence for a minute while Annabeth tried to wrap her head around this new piece of information.

"Full name?" he asked.

"Annabeth Marie Chase," she answered, making herself more comfortable on her bed.

"Any reason why?"

"No, my parents just liked the names. You?"

He hesitated.

"Come on, tell me!" she persuaded.

"Perseus James Jackson," he admitted.

"Perseus?" Annabeth asked before bursting into laughter.

"The only Greek hero to get a happy ending," he reminded her. "Jim was my granddad's name, he died when my mom was young and Jim is short for James."

"Any reason why your family is so obsessed with Greek mythology?"

"My dad _is_ Greek. I'm half-Greek."

"Wait really?" she asked surprised. "So you speak Greek with him. Are you fluent?"

"Yes, I'm fluent in speaking, not so much written. I speak Greek when I see him. I live with my mom and step-dad, Paul."

"Any siblings?" she asked him.

"No, you?"

"Step-brothers, Bobby and Matthew. They're twins," she replies.

Annabeth glanced at the clock, seeing that it was quarter to three.

"Percy. Do you own a clock?"

"Yeah, why?"

"What time does yours say? Or is it broken?"

"It's quarter to three, why?"

"It's that not a late time to you?"

"Oh Styx, sorry I wasn't thinking straight."

Annabeth was too shocked to reply. Sure, this phone call had been _way_ more civil than their past conversations, but Percy had just _apologised_ to her.

"Annabeth?" he called. "Have you fallen asleep?"

"I just can't believe you apologised to me!"

"I'm not _that_ bad," he protested.

"Says the man who once filled my locker with Styrofoam."

"That was a good one, you have to admit," he said, a smile working his way into his voice.

It wasn't bad," she said grudgingly.

He closed his eyes for a second, realising how tired he was. Annabeth's voice pulled him out of his stupor.

"Percy?"

"Mm-hm."

"Can I tell Piper and Thalia? Please? I can make them promise not to tell a soul."

"Fine," he sighed tiredly.

"Thanks."

There was a pause.

"I'm going to sleep," he said finally. "Goodnight Chase."

"Goodnight."

With that, he disconnected the call and rolled over.

* * *

 _ **Very**_ **dialogue- central. Hopefully less so in the upcoming chapters. Don't get me wrong, I love dialogue. So if you like chapters like this, let me know.**

 **Did you like this chapter? How do you think I have the characters?**

 **Thanks,**

 **Panda1912**


	4. Chapter 3- Revelation

**Hey!**

 _Qwaskie_ **is like my favourite person at the moment, thanks for all your comments!**

 **I'm not sure how the American school system works, since I'm Irish, so some things may be a bit off.**

 **I know it's a quick update but I spent an hour and half writing today and just wanted to update.**

 **Hope you enjoy,**

 **Panda1912**

* * *

The next day, Annabeth felt the sickness again. Like nerves, but worse. And though their conversation last night had made things seem easier, her stomach reminded her that she had to pretend to be _Percy Jackson's_ girlfriend. For a month.

"Pull yourself together Chase. It's just a month," she told herself, gritting her teeth.

The bus pulled up in front of her school so she grabbed her bag, swung it on her shoulders and made her way to the school.

Just before she climbed the steps, she felt a buzz in her pocket indicating that she had received a text. Pausing, she pulled her phone out of her jeans pocket. Clicking the on button, she stared at the screen which showed her she had gotten a text from 'My beautiful boyfriend'.

 _Let Day 1 of Fake Dating commence!_

She rolled her eyes but couldn't stop herself from grinning as she replied.

 **Let's do this thing! Jwk, how long have we been 'fake dating'?**

She clicked the button on the top of her phone and stuffed it back in her pocket. She squared her shoulders and climbed the steps.

She didn't see Percy at her locker which was probably a good thing. Her phone pinged again while she was dragging her books out of her bag.

 _Jwk? Two weeks, btw. Can I delete these messages in case Jason or Grover sees them?_

 **Just wanna know. Go for it.**

The reply was quick.

 _Thanks. I'll send a fake message after I delete them, okay?_

Annabeth paused for a second before having a brainwave. She quickly screenshotted the conversation, just in case Piper or Thalia needed evidence.

 **Sure.**

She tucked her phone away and began arranging her books properly. She made her way to her next class, still thinking of ways to tell her best friends the news.

It was lunch time when they finally found out.

It started when Piper sat down and declared her phone to be officially smashed.

Thalia struck up a conversation with the Cherokee girl, the topic being how the phone broke while Annabeth sat, pretended to listen and thought over how to break the news.

"I would help you but I ran out of credit literally yesterday," Annabeth vaguely heard Thalia say.

"What about you Annabeth?" Piper asked her.

"Huh?" she replied intelligently.

"Were you even listening?" Piper huffed almost joking, not even wanting an answer. "Can I borrow your phone? My new one isn't coming 'til tomorrow and I need to text my mom to let her know that she'll have to call tomorrow instead."

Piper's mom, Aphrodite, was a successful business woman with her own line of skincare and beauty products. Apparently, she had known Athena in her youth. They had never been _close_ friends due to different interests, but had bonded over their Greek names and business-like manners. Piper's dad, the famous Tristan McLean, had fathered Piper after a whirlwind romance but the two had never gotten married. Despite all this, Piper remained on good terms with her mother and often had hour long conversations with her on the phone.

"Oh yeah, sure," Annabeth replied, pulling out her phone.

She noticed that she had another text from Percy and motioned for Piper to wait a second.

 _Are you ready to tell Piper and Thalia about us?_

Annabeth was confused for a moment before she remembered that this was a fake text for his friends' sake.

 **As I'll ever be ;)**

With that, she passed her phone off to Piper.

"Thanks," she replied, before scrolling through Annabeth's contact list. "I can't find her under 'a'," she announced a minute later.

"Oh, she's under 'p' for Piper's mom," Annabeth replied.

Unfortunately for Annabeth, 'm' as in 'my beautiful boyfriend' came just before 'p' on her contacts list.

"Who's 'my beautiful boyfriend' and why is their contact picture one of you and Percy?" Piper asked suddenly.

"Show me!" Thalia asked, scandalised as she slid closer to Piper and peered over her shoulder.

"Relax guys," Annabeth told them, "it's fake."

"Explain. Now," Thalia said, in that blunt way of hers.

"He accidentally told Grover and Jason that we were dating and now we've to fake date for a month."

"Prove it," Piper said, folding her arms and raising an eyebrow.

"What is this? Bad cop, bad cop?" Annabeth asked in an attempt at a joke while she reached for her phone.

She quickly brought up the screenshot of their text messages that she had taken earlier and handed the phone to her two best friends.

They read through the text messages before grudgingly admitting that Annabeth was telling the truth.

"I still can't believe you agreed," Thalia said wondrously, leaning back in her seat.

"I still can't believe you and Percy are first cousins," Annabeth shot back, not quite sure how to answer Thalia.

"What?" Piper exclaimed, turning to face Thalia.

But before the goth could answer, Percy called out to Annabeth.

* * *

 **Currently having a 'write-a-thon' with my younger sister but Dad said we could only stay up until 1am so I only have an hour of writing left. I might write another chapter of this and then work on some of my original stuff.**

 **Storm Brian happened today and it was literally nothing. Like, during Storm Ophelia, we lost our electricity and Storm Brian was literally just some rain which is not uncommon in Ireland.**

 **Let me know your thoughts,**

 **Panda 1912**


	5. Chapter 4- Fun Times at Lunch

**Sorry if the last chapter left you on a cliffhanger ;)**

 **And sorry if my constant uploading annoys you. I just feel like if I don't write and upload this all now, I'll end up abandoning it or something, like I did with my old fanfics that I ended up deleting.**

Beetle126 **'s comment made me smile.**

 **Thanks** _Qwaskie_ **for you concern, everything's fine now.**

 **I know Annabeth is quite tall in the actual books but this AU and I kind of like the idea of Percy teasing Annabeth on her height ;)**

 **Happy Reading,**

 **Panda1912**

* * *

Percy Jackson was not having the best lunch break.

He used to complain about not sharing his first few Wednesday classes with his two best friends but it had turned out to be a blessing in disguise. But, as a result, his lunchtime had suffered. It didn't take long for the interrogating to begin.

"So, how long have you been dating Chase?" Jason asked, not one for beating around the bush.

"About two weeks now," he replied, blushing slightly.

"How did it _happen_?" Grover asked.

"We were both at our lockers and she dropped her books. I helped her and it just went from there."

"So if we were to call her over right now, she'd agree with everything you say?" Jason asked.

Percy nodded uncomfortably.

"What's her favourite colour?" Grover asked.

Percy was suddenly _very_ grateful for their late phone call, despite it making him feel like crap.

"Grey."

"Favourite animal?" Jason asked.

"An owl," Percy replied triumphantly.

"Full name?" Jason asked again.

"Annabeth Marie Chase."

"Mom's name?" Grover wondered.

"Athena."

"Ha! Wrong!" Jason exclaimed gleefully, ignoring the looks from the tables around them. "It's Helen."

"Wrong actually," Percy replied, leaning forward. "Helen is her step-mom."

"Call her over then dude," Grover bated him.

"Okay so," Percy said before raising his voice slightly. "Annabeth!"

Annabeth heard hm shout her name and rolled her eyes slightly.

"Good luck," chorused from her table.

"Oh shut up," she replied sourly, not really intending to be mean, more sarcastic.

Annabeth got up from her seat and made her way to the three boys who were sitting at the middle table. While she had always complained that her school was so cliche, she glad it wasn't cliche enough that the whole school stared as she made her way towards the 'popular' table. In fact, people barely glanced up from their lunches.

Unwillingly, Annabeth slid in to the spot next to Percy.

"Hey Beth," he acknowledged easily, swinging his arm around her shoulder.

She could practically see Jason and Grover's jaw drop and knew how they felt. She had just enough composure to keep her mouth shut. Deciding to play along, she spoke up.

"I take it you told them," she teased.

"So it's true then? You're actually a couple?" Grover asked in disbelief.

But Jason jumped in before Percy or Annabeth could reply.

"Not so fast, it could all be pretend. Annabeth, what's your favourite colour?"

"Grey," she replied, also glad she had answered Percy's call the night before.

"Favourite animal?"

"Owl," she answered again.

"Mother's name," Jason asked, sure that Percy would be wrong.

"Athena."

"Told you," Percy said proudly, ruffling Annabeth's hair affectionately.

Annabeth had no idea where this Percy had come and she was still surprised.

"Full name?" Grover asked.

"Annabeth Marie Chase."

"Okay, so Percy was completely correct," Grover muttered.

"Now it's Annabeth's turn," Jason announced.

"What is this, some sort of game show?" she replied with an eye roll.

"Percy's favourite colour?"

"Easy. Blue."

"His favourite animal?"

"A horse."

"Dad's name?"

"Poseidon."

Percy and Grover just sat watching the conversation like a ping-pong match.

"His full name?" Jason asked, grinning evilly.

He doubted that Percy would tell _Annabeth Chase,_ of all people, his real name unless they were actually dating.

"Perseus James Jackson," with each word, Annabeth leaned closer over the table.

"She's right," Grover said, shocked.

Annabeth flopped back in her seat triumphantly.

"How long have you and Perce here been dating?" Jason asked, still suspicious.

"Two weeks. It happened one day when I dropped my books while we were both at our lockers. Now can you stop asking me questions?" Annabeth huffed, getting slightly irritated with Jason.

Percy squeezed her shoulder lightly, probably meant to reassure her but all it did was make her tense with uneasiness.

"I need to get another pizza slice, Grover, come with?" Jason asked suddenly, standing up. "We should give these two lovebirds a little alone time."

Annabeth waiter until the two were gone before speaking up.

"Gods, is he always that annoying?"

Percy laughed. "Nah, he just doesn't like to be proven wrong."

"In this case, he's right."

Percy laughed again and there was a pause.

"Hey, are you okay?" he asked her suddenly.

"You're kind of scaring me to be honest," she admitted.

"Because I'm being nice?"

She nodded.

"I mean, you are doing me a favour Chase. It was be stupid of me to continue antagonising me when you're doing me a favour."

She looked at him, shocked.

"What?" he teased. "Didn't know I knew what the word 'antagonising' meant? I learned it from you if I'm being honest."

She laughed slightly before speaking.

"I'm more shocked that you're being _nice_ to me," she told him.

"There's a lot you don't know about me Bethie," he said, ruffling her hair again.

"I feel like you're patronising me," she complained. "I'm not a child."

He peered down at her.

"You _are_ quite small," he said.

"Excuse _you,_ you're just abnormally tall," she replied.

He stared at her, blinked and then threw his head back in laughter.

She glanced over to the table where her two best friends were sitting to see them staring at her and Percy in shock. She shrugged her shoulders helplessly before turning back to her 'boyfriend'. A moment later, she got a message from Thalia.

 _Well you two look pretty cosy._

Annabeth rolled her eyes before replying.

 **I was literally just giving out to him for saying I was small. I have no idea why he's laughing.**

By this time, Percy had recovered and was looking around the cafeteria for Grover and Jason.

"I think we pulled that off quite well, don't you think?" he asked her.

"I was worried Jason might ask me something about you that I didn't know."

"Like what?"

"I don't know, what your parents do for a living?"

"My mom works at a sweetshop and she's also a writer. Mr. Blofis is my step-dad."

"Wait, really? As in the English teacher?"

"Yeah. He's cool."

"I didn't know his first name was Paul."

"There you go, you learn something new everyday. Unless you know practically everything," he finished with a pointed look in her direction.

"Was that a compliment?" she mock-gasped.

"Don't get used to it," he winked.

"What about your dad?"

"What about my dad?" he asked tensely.

"What does he do for a living?"

Instantly, Percy's face closed off and, if it was possible, he tensed even more.

"Never mind," she said immediately, spotting the look on his face, "forget I asked. It was stupid of me."

He nodded tersely, not saying anything.

There was another silence but it was anything but comfortable. Annabeth began speaking if only to fill in the silence.

"My dad's a history professor. Helen's stay-at-home-mom." My mom..." she hesitated, "my mom is the CEO at Athena Architecture."

Percy seemed to have relaxed slightly, realising that Annabeth had fully intended to let the subject drop.

"I've heard of them. They designed the house of a movie star, didn't they? The guy who was in that movie about the Greek warrior."

"You mean Tristan McLean?"

"Yes, him."

"Oh, yeah. She designed that personally, as a favour to me."

"A favour to you? Are you a big fan."

"Tristan McLean is Piper's dad. He isn't home a lot, as you can imagine, so she kind of wanted it to be styled to her taste instead of his."

"Wait. Tristan McLean is Piper's _dad_?"

"Yeah."

"I never knew..."

Suddenly, the bell rang and Jason and Grover popped out of nowhere to collect their bags.

"Well I better go..." Annabeth trailed off, unsure of how to say goodbye with Percy's friends staring at her.

"I'll see you later, yeah?" Percy asked.

"Sure. Bye."

With that, she made her way back to her own table and grabbed her own bag before hurriedly making her way to her locker.

* * *

 **Longer, at the request of** _anonymous._

 **Hope you enjoyed,**

 _ **Panda1912**_


	6. Chapter 5- Blame Jason

**Sorry this took longer than usual to upload. I knew how I wanted to start this chapter and I had the first 500 words or so written but I wasn't sure whether to split it in two or not. I decided to at the end but I will hopefully be updating soon.**

 **Also, over 1k views! That's crazy! Thanks so much!**

 **Thanks for all your comments, they motivated me so much!**

 **Panda1912**

* * *

The next day, Annabeth was feeling a little bit better about her situation. If Percy continued to be nice, she _might_ just make it through the month. Maybe. That is, until lunch rolled around once more and her day took a nose dive.

The start of lunch was grand. She had queued up at the cafeteria and bought her lunch. It was all good until she sat down with Thalia and Piper.

Suddenly Percy slid into the spot next to her.

"Bad news," he announced grimly.

"What?"

"Your brother," he began, glaring at Thalia as if it was her fault before switching his gaze back to Annabeth, "being the idiot that he is, told my mom we were dating and now she wants to meet you!"

"Why don't you just tell her we're fake?" Annabeth suggested, frowning.

"She wouldn't approve of me lying to my friends," he admitted.

"You're not lying," she protested, "you're just proving them wrong."

"With an elegant scam," he reminded her.

"Practical joke," she corrected.

"At least it's just mom. Thank the gods that Paul's at that teacher's conference."

Seeing Annabeth's shocked face, he hastily began to explain.

"Don't get me wrong, I love Paul but I can barely handle _mom_ meeting you, never mind him."

"Relax Percy, we're not actually dating."

"I hate lying to her though."

"Tell me about your mom," Annabeth said.

"She's the nicest person you'll ever meet," he began without hesitation. "Her parents died in a plane crash when she was five. She went to live with a not-very-nice uncle and had to drop out of school to take care of him when he became very sick. Because of her cut-off education, it was very hard for her to get a job. She ended up marrying this awful man, Gabe Ugliano, so she'd have enough money to send me to school and have a good childhood."

"What happened to him?" Annabeth asked, unsure if Percy would be okay with the question.

"He got arrested for drink-driving thank the gods and mom got a divorce. Everything's been great since she met Paul but I feel sort of guilty."

"What for?" Piper asked, just as intrigued.

"I wasn't," Percy paused and stared down at the table, "I wasn't the best child."

"How so?" Thalia cocked her head.

"I've been kicked out of six schools," he admitted.

"No way!" Annabeth said shocked. "I thought Piper was bad."

Percy turned to Piper questioningly.

"I've been kicked out of four schools," she said almost proudly.

"I can't believe you've been kicked out of six schools," Thalia repeated incredulously.

"Wait, you didn't know?" Annabeth asked. "He's your cousin!"

"Dad's side," she replied simply.

Upon seeing Annabeth and Piper's confused faces, she elaborated.

"Our dads were brothers. Due to family circumstances, I didn't even know Percy existed until a few years ago."

"That's mad," Annabeth said.

"Wait, if your dads are brothers, how come you have different last names?" Piper asked.

"Mom's maiden name," Thalia and Percy replied in unison.

"When does she want to meet me?" Annabeth asked, reverting back to their original topic of conversation.

"So you'll do it?" Percy asked wide-eyed.

"I kind of have to, don't I? But yeah, I'll do it. When does she want to meet me?" Annabeth asked again.

"Tonight..." Percy winced.

"You're in luck, I'm free," Annabeth said drily.

"Thank you so much!" Percy said, getting up from the bench. "I'll see you later."

"Text me the details!" Annabeth called after him.

She turned to see Piper and Thalia watching her.

"What?" she asked.

But they just shook their heads.

* * *

After getting details and an address, Annabeth checked the bus times and asked Percy to meet her at the bus stop closest to his house. Asking Helen or her dad was out of the question. After sorting that all out, Annabeth felt a bit better. Until she realised that she had no idea what to wear. How fancy was this meal to be? She ended up with black skinny jeans, a grey t-shirt and a wine zip-hoodie. She left her hair down and grabbed money for the bus. It was times like this that she wished she actually lived in the town instead of out in the countryside.

"Bye dad, I'll be back late," Annabeth called out as she pushed open the front door.

As per usual, there was no answer. She sighed slightly and pulled the door behind her. She made it to the bus stop with a minute to spare, which is how she timed it. It was fifteen minutes on the bus before she disembarked, meaning she had fifteen minutes for the nerves to go full on rollercoaster. To ease her stomach, she took out her phone and texted Percy.

 **On the bus, should be at the stop in thirteen.**

The reply was almost instant.

 _That's an oddly specific number._

 **I take this bus to school so I've got it all figured out.**

 _Typical of you!_

 **Hey! I'm doing you a favour here.**

 _I know, I know, I'm only teasing. How're the nerves?_

 **Nerve-wracking. What about you?**

 _Same I suppose. Mom thinks it's hilarious._

 **I blame Jason.**

 _That's my go-to excuse for everything._

Unwillingly, Annabeth found herself laughing. Luckily, the bus wasn't _too_ packed.

 **I'm going to steal that from now on.**

 _Hah no. You have your own Grace. Blame it on Thals._

 **That's actually a really good idea.**

 _I'm full of them._

 **What? Like tricking your best friends into thinking that you're dating your enemy?**

 _We're not enemies!_

 **Mmm-hmm**

 _We're friendly rivals._

 **Okay, sure. Tell yourself that. But don't forget you sabotaged my Home Ec cake...**

 _If we're mortal enemies, how come you agreed to fake-date me?_

 **Who says I'm mortal?**

 _But seriously though._

 **Contrary to popular belief (and by popular I mean you), I'm actually a decent human. And sure, watching you flounder would've been hilarious but it would've been my fault and not all of us were born without a conscience.**

 _How incredibly decent of you. Where are you btw?_

 **On the bus, where else?**

 _I'm at the bus stop now, how long more will you be?_

 **Three minutes.**

 _Uggh!_

 **Stop being such a baby, it's three minutes.**

 _Do you have any idea how cold it is?_

 **Nah, I'm on a heated bus.**

 _Haha, rub it in. It's freezing, btw._

 **I guessed as much by your complaining.**

 _Thank gods, I can see you pulling up now._

* * *

 **Listening to _Glorious_ by Macklemore. _Ain't Gonna Die Tonight_ is the first on my playlist because it's so upbeat and motivates me so much.**

 **Let me know what you thought of this chapter. Sorry it kind of cuts off but I thought there was the best place to leave it. Hopefully next chapter will be longer,**

 **Panda 1912**


	7. Chapter 6- Dinner Time

**I'm sorry this took so long to get up, I was at my granny's for the weekend and she doesn't own internet or a computer. Hope you enjoy.**

 **Panda1912**

* * *

Percy was waiting at the bus stop for her. He was wearing black jeans and converse as well as a sea-green dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up.

"Geez, now I feel underdressed," Annabeth said, by way of greeting.

"Mom forced me quote 'to wear something nice'," Percy said air-quoting with his fingers.

"Did you just say _quote_?" Annabeth asked.

"Yeah, why?" Percy frowned as he began walking down the street.

Annabeth laughed quietly before replying.

"I've never actually heard people say quote before."

"Yeah, well. And don't worry, it's not a fancy meal or anything, mom's just old-fashioned about somethings."

"So _am_ I underdressed?"

"Nah, you look nice."

Annabeth smiled and they continued walking in comfortable silence.

"So how long is it to your house from the bus stop?"

"Only a few more minutes left I'd say."

There was another pause.

"Gods, you were right, it _is_ cold."

"Told you! And you were there, mocking me from the bus!"

"I wasn't _mocking_ you. I was merely bragging about my warmth."

"Right," Percy snorted, "because that's so much better."

"At least I'm not a hypocrite."

"Are you calling me a hypocrite?" Percy asked, mock-offended.

"No, I was just saying that it _is_ better because it means that I'm not a hypocrite."

"Okay, now I'm just confused," Percy admitted.

"I give up!" Annabeth said, throwing her hands in the air.

There was another pause before Percy purposely bumped his side against hers to get her attention.

"See, this isn't so bad," Percy said.

"What?"

"Us, fake-dating."

"It's literally been three days and so far, I've been woken up at 2am, been questioned by both my friends and yours and I'm about to meet your mom!"

"Yeah, but it could be worse," Percy told her.

"How?" Annabeth asked, cynically.

"I could still be rude and pull pranks on you," Percy pointed out.

"So you admit that you were out of line!" Annabeth cried triumphantly.

"Well, pranks aren't exactly 'friendly' behaviour. Besides, you're not much better."

"Excuse me?" Annabeth asked, exaggerating annoyance.

"What about that time that you hacked my locker and stuffed rotten fish in it."

"Okay, that was pretty good."

"I vomited."

"Haha. Really funny."

There was a pause.

"Wait really?"

"Yeah, I don't eat fish. It's a thing that I have."

"Oh," Annabeth replied, her voice quite small.

"Anyway, back to my original point. It could be worse."

"We're barely skimming tolerable here. If it was any worse, I'd call this whole hoax off," Annabeth told him.

"Here we are," Percy replied cheerfully, not even bothering to reply to Annabeth's dig.

It was a modern-sized house, quite new but still homely and cheerful. Percy pushed open the front door and called out to his mother.

"Mom! Annabeth's here!"

Almost immediately, a woman came in from the kitchen to greet them. In looks, she and Percy could not be further from each other. While Percy had green eyes, Sally had blue. While Percy had black hair, Sally had brown. But even if she hadn't known they were related, Annabeth figures she'd would've as soon as she'd seen them together. They had the same demeanour, the same stature, the same way of carrying themselves.

"Hi," Annabeth said nervously, "you must be Sally. Percy's told me a lot about you."

"Must be a one-way system then," Sally said, glaring teasingly at her son. "I had to practically drag your name from Jason. Come on in to the kitchen, dinner will be ready soon."

Annabeth followed Sally and Percy along the hall to the kitchen, where Annabeth could smell an amazing lasagna cooking in the oven.

"It smells lovely Sally," Annabeth told Percy's mom.

"Thank you dear," Sally replied before taking a step back and looking properly at Annabeth. "Look at you, you're georgeous."

Annabeth blushed bright red.

"Honestly Percy, why didn't you tell me you had such a beautiful girlfriend?"

Now it was Percy's turn to blush.

"I was going to!" he protested.

Sally scoffed before turning back to the oven to check her lasagna. In the few seconds that she had her back to them, Annabeth shot Percy a look and he shrugged in reply.

A few minutes later, they had sat down to eat.

"This is delicious Sally," Annabeth said after taking a few bites of her dinner.

"You've outdone yourself mom," Percy agreed.

"Thank you," Sally replied before turning to Annabeth. "So Annabeth, since Percy won't tell me a thing, tell me a little about yourself."

"I live with my dad and step-mom and my twin half-brothers just outside the town. I'm in Percy's year in school and my best friends are Piper and Thalia."

"Thalia as in my niece?" Sally inquired.

"Apparently so," Annabeth said faking a glare at Percy. "Which neither she nor Percy saw fit to mention."

Sally laughed lightly.

"What does your dad do for a living?"

"He's a history professor."

"Does he enjoy it?"

"Loves it. Sometimes I think he wishes he didn't have to come home," Annabeth laughed.

"That reminds me, Percy. Your dad called. He said he won't be able to come this weekend like planned but will hopefully be home next weekend."

Annabeth watched as Percy's face fell. She didn't know what Poseidon did for a living but it was obviously awfully hard on Percy.

"Percy tells me you write books," Annabeth said, trying to defuse the tension.

From there a conversation sparked between Sally and Annabeth but Annabeth couldn't help but notice how little Percy took part. The meal continued like that until it was time for Annabeth to go home.

"I'll drop you to the bus stop dear," Sally offered, "it's too dark for you to be walking."

"Bye Percy," Annabeth said to her 'boyfriend'.

"Bye Annabeth," he smiled, "I'll text you tonight."

With that, the two women left the house. Annabeth just made it to the bus stop as the bus was pulling in.

"Thank you so much for the beautiful dinner," Annabeth said again.

"Not at all. It was lovely meeting you."

"You too!"

With that, Annabeth climbed onto the bus and sat down somewhere near the back.

* * *

 **Sorry, the ending was a bit rushed, I wasn't sure how to end it. Hopefully the next chapter will be longer. Sorry again for keeping you waiting,**

 **Panda1912**


	8. Chapter 7- Invitation

**Okay. So yeah, I am officially the worst fanfiction writer in the universe. What with school and homework, etc. I got so busy. Plus I wasn't really sure _how_ to write this chapter, you know?**

 **Also 2.5k views? That's amazing guys! It actually motivates me so much.**

 **Anyway, I'm getting a laptop for my birthday so I'll hopefully be faster.**

 **Thank you for waiting so patiently,**

 **Panda1912**

* * *

True to his word, Percy texted her later.

 _See that wasn't too bad._

 **Did your mother say anything afterwards?**

 _She kept going on about 'how pretty you are'._

 **I love how you use quotation marks.**

 **And by love I mean because you're implying that I'm not.**

 _I'm not sure how to reply to that._

 **'No Annabeth, you're not ugly' would be preferable.**

 _No Annabeth, you're not ugly._

 **Why does that feel forced?**

 _Hmm I wonder._

 **You're so rude sometimes.**

 _It's my best quality._

 **Then I'd hate to see your worst.**

There was a pause in the 'conversation'.

 **Call me there, you're too slow at typing.**

 _Rude_

But sure enough, a few seconds later, she received a call from Percy.

"Hey," he said.

"Hey," she paused. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, why wouldn't I be?" he asked.

"You were a little quiet at dinner. I guess I'm a bit worried about you."

"Annabeth Chase, worried about me?"

"Shut up! We're dating, remember?"

"Ah yes, I'd forgotten that!"

"Haha," Annabeth replied deadpanned. "But seriously."

"I guess that I'm just annoyed at my dad."

"Does this happen often?"

"More than you'd think. And I know that it's not his fault, but I just can't help but feel disappointed, ya know?"

"Yeah, I get it. It's like that with my mom sometimes. We barely see each other even though she promised she'd visit often."

There was a pause.

"Percy," she said gently. "What does your dad do?"

"He's an Admiral in the Navy."

Whatever Annabeth was expecting, it certainly wasn't that.

"Oh. That's why you have a thing about fish!" she suddenly realised. "Oh my gods, I'm so sorry!"

"It's fine, you didn't know."

The silence stretched over the telephone wires and if it weren't for Percy's steady breathing over the line, she would've thought he had hung up.

"I still can't believe we went from hating to dating," Annabeth joked a minute later.

"Okay, that is untrue. I never _hated_ you and we're not even dating."

Annabeth huffed in pretend annoyance.

"I know _that_ Percy, but it rhymed."

He laughed and Annabeth started to grin.

"Annabeth?" Percy asked slowly.

"Yes?"

"Would you do me a massive favour?"

"Depends. What kind of favour?"

"Aahh... a you-kind-of-have-to-'cause-you're-my-girlfriend-and-plus-my-mom's-breathing-down-my-neck kind of favour?"

"What is it now?"

"What do you mean 'what is it now?'? You agreed to this. Plus, you're having fun," Percy teased.

"I am not!" Annabeth gasped, fake-outraged. "I told you, we're barely skimming tolerable."

"Mmm... sure," Percy said, obviously not believing her.

"What on Earth makes you think I'm enjoying this?" Annabeth asked.

"What are you going right now?"

"Talking to you. But I don't see how-"

She was cut off by Percy.

"You wouldn't be talking to me right now if you didn't enjoy my company or conversation."

"We're talking on the phone because you're slow at typing."

"What? Too impatient to get my texts?" Percy smirked. "You're just digging yourself a deeper whole, Bethie dear."

"I am not. Besides, fake dating you is different."

"Than what?"

"I don't know. Than what you were saying."

"About enjoying my company? Are you saying that you don't like fake dating me but you're enjoying my company?"

"Whatever," Annabeth huffed.

"Aha! You enjoy my company!"

"Oh shut up!"

"I've broken the ice-queen!"

"I am _not_ an ice-queen!"

"We friends! Ha-"

Percy was cut off by a beep. He looked at his phone to find the call had ended. He called her back.

"Did you just hang up on me?"

Her laughter erupted over the line before she calmed enough to ask a question.

"Nevermind that. You needed me to do a favour!"

"Ah yes. You ready for this?"

"Ooohhh, the suspense is killing me," Annabeth replied sarcastically.

"Drum roll please," Percy called out dramatically.

He could hear Annabeth set the phone down and slap her hands on the table rapidly. She paused, waiting for Percy to present his news.

"You need to be my date for my cousins wedding next week," he announced.

* * *

 **Whooo. I've been working on this since the end of October. And not even continuously working on it, like I should've been. But like, bits and pieces. But it's here and hopefully the next chapter will be quicker out. No promises, but fingers crossed. Plus my own laptop would really help.**

 **I'd love to hear if you're enjoying it. If you want to comment a question or even a fanfic rec, I'll reply my answer/ opinion on the next chapter.**

 **Bye for now,**

 **Panda1912**


	9. Chapter 8- Suspicious Friends

**Typing this on my new laptop! It finally came, so hopefully my updates will be quicker. No promises though!**

 **Happy Reading,**

 **Panda1912**

* * *

For some reason, Percy decided to sit with them today. Annabeth had thought that agreeing to be his date to a wedding would be enough to guarantee one, maybe two, Percy-free days. She and Percy obviously weren't on the same wavelength.

"What are you so happy about?" Piper asked him as he slid into the empty spot next to Annabeth, smiling like he had just won the lotto.

"Annabeth and I are officially _friends_ ," he stated in a whisper, not wanting anyone to hear and run tell his friends.

" _What_?!" Piper screeched loudly, which was even louder in comparison to Percy's whisper.

Annabeth rolled her eyes.

" _And_ she told me that she enjoyed my conversation," he continued smugly.

Annabeth restrained herself from rolling her eyes again but contented herself with an eyebrow raise.

Thalia looked between the 'couple' like it was a ping-pong match, despite the fact that they were just sitting silently. Then she shook her head as if clearing it.

"I'm sorry, _what_?" she asked.

Annabeth decided to jump in now, instead of Percy letting it escalate.

"Percy is being delusional. I said nothing of the sorts."

"But you _implied_ it! And that the same thing!" Percy argued back.

"First of all, it isn't. Second of all, I did not imply _anything_ ," she said fiercely.

But her blush gave away her lie.

"Ha!" Percy announced, pointing at her cheeks.

She swatted away his hand. She was saved from answering by Jason and Grover arriving and dragging Percy away. Annabeth gave a sigh of relief and turned to see Thalia and Piper staring at her with identical knowing looks.

"What?" Annabeth asked, frowning.

"Nothing," they chorused together.

* * *

"So, you two looked cosy," Jason said as they slid into their usual spots around their usual table.

"We're going out, we're supposed to be cosy," Percy pointed out, frowning slightly.

"Ignore him," Grover advised Percy. "He's just being petty 'cause he was wrong."

"Still on about that mate?" Percy sighed.

"It's you and _Chase_!" Jason burst out. "Am I supposed to _not_ be blown away?"

"Jason. Chill," Percy said. "It's not like we're getting married."

"Okay. I'm sorry. It's just as odd if I were to date Piper or someone."

"Dude, you totally like Piper. It wouldn't be that odd," Grover said.

"I do not," Jason retorted, cheeks flaming.

"It's about as obvious as Percy and Annabeth," Grover told him.

"I'm sorry, _what_?" Percy asked.

"Nothing," Grover said innocently.

"It better have been nothing," Percy half-growled.

"Don't worry man, I'm just messing with you," Grover replied.

Percy relaxed slightly. After that, lunch was the normal affair. But Percy still couldn't help but wonder what Grover had meant.

* * *

Later, the 'couple' were walking together to English, keeping up pretences. By now, the whole school knew about their relationship. But that didn't stop people from staring as they passed.

"Are your friends acting weird?" Percy asked suddenly.

"Kind of, yeah. They keep giving me these 'knowing looks' as insisting nothing's wrong when I ask. What about you?" Annabeth replied.

"Grover just made a comment and insisted that he was joking. I don't know..." Percy trailed off.

"What do you mean 'made a comment'? I need more than that," Annabeth teased, bumping his side.

"We were teasing Jason about Piper-"

"What?" Annabeth cut across. "Does Jason like Piper?"

"I don't know. Grover and I think so but he keeps denying it. Anyway, Grover said that his crush was as obvious as you and I."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"I'm not sure. I asked Grover but he just said he was messing."

"Is he trying to insinuate that we like each other romantically or something?"

Percy just shrugged helplessly.

"I wonder if Piper likes Jason," Annabeth said, changing the topic.

"That would be kind of cool if they got together," Percy added.

"Everyone would be happy. Grover and Juniper, Jason and Piper."

"Me and you."

"Ha ha," Annabeth replied, deadpanned.

"What about Thalia?" Percy asked.

"She's fine. I'm pretty sure she's ace or aro. Or both actually."

The final warning bell rang so the two picked up their pace.

* * *

 **What are you wearing to the wedding?**

 _A suit, why?_

 **'Cause I still need to know what to wear. Details?**

 _Just a normal black suit with a white shirt. I'm not sure what colour tie though._

Annabeth's reply was almost immediate.

 **Green.**

 _That's strange._

 **What is?**

 _My mom said the same thing._

 **She has good taste. I need to go, I have to get an outfit.**

 _Okay Chase._

Annabeth clicked off her phone and went looking online. Finally she decided on this cute, grey dress that cinched at the waist. Deciding to look sort-of matching with Percy, she also bought a green leather jacket that was cropped to her ribs. She wasn't bothered about shoes, wanting to be comfortable and just wear her green hightop converse.

 **Got my outfit.**

 _Great. Will it arrive in time for the wedding?_

 **I hope so.**

With that, she plugged in her phone and turned off her lights. This was going to be a long month.

* * *

 **Yay! A Christmas present for all you who celebrate it! Your present to me was 3.6k views! That's insane, thank you.**

 **I hope you all enjoyed your holidays!**

 **Merry Christmas or Happy Holidays,**

 **Panda1912**


	10. Chapter 9- The Journey

**Hey! Sorry, this is a little late, I was at my granny's for New Year and she doesn't have internet.**

 **HAPPY 2018!**

 **We made it! I really hope this year is better...**

 **Panda1912**

* * *

The day of the wedding arrived. It was funny how much she had anxiously anticipated it, how far away it had seemed and now it was here. Annabeth showered, got changed and dried her hair. She was very nervous for the wedding. She had to pretend to be Percy's girlfriend to all his relatives and family friends.

On her way to the kitchen to wait for Percy, she passed the hall mirror. She stopped for a second to straighten her jacket and give herself another pep talk; her fourth one of the day.

She took a deep breath and headed to the kitchen. She wasn't very hungry, her stomach was already full- of butterflies- but decided to eat a granola bar.

She sat down at the table, taking her time. Her eyes glazed over as she imagined the rest of her day. She had zoned out so much that she didn't even notice her father come into the room.

Frederick Chase stared at his daughter, all dressed up, taking tiny bites of her food and smiled sadly. She had grown up so quickly, and now he wished he had spent more time with her.

"Morning," he said, before dropping a soft kiss onto her head.

"Oh hey dad, sorry, I completely blanked."

"How come you're all dressed up this early?"

"I've been invited to a wedding, actually."

"Huh. And who's wedding might that be?"

"I'm not actually sure. Thalia's cousin needed a date so I said I'd go with him."

"And should I be worried about this 'him'?"

"Haha dad. I barely even know Percy."

"Well okay then," he said, holding up his hands as if to surrender.

Luckily, Annabeth was saved from more awkward questions by the doorbell.

"That will be Percy. I'll see you dad."

"Stay safe," Frederick called after his daughter's retreating figure.

"I will," she shouted back.

Annabeth opened the door and froze. Percy was there in a suit, with a green tie that matched her jacket exactly.

"Um... hi," Percy swallowed, "you look very nice."

"I could say the same thing about you," Annabeth replied, stepping out and pulling the door closed behind her.

The two turned and began walking towards the car.

"Whose wedding _is_ it?" Annabeth asked.

"Did I never tell you? Oh sorry. It's my cousin Silena. She's getting married to her long-term boyfriend Beckendorf."

"Beckendorf?"

"His real name is Charles. Everyone calls him Beckendorf or Beck 'cause it's his last name. Except Sil. She calls him Charlie."

"And whose side of the family?"

"Dad's. But he can't make it so mom and Paul are going instead."

"Wait. Paul's going? You never said-"

They had reached the car and Annabeth quickly shut her mouth. She was already nervous about meeting everyone at the wedding but she, for some reason, that it would just be her, Percy and Sally in the car. She wasn't prepared to meet Paul. What do you say to your fake boyfriend's step-dad who's also an English teacher at your school? Annabeth slid along the seat 'til she was all the way in and buckled her belt.

"Hi Sally," she said nervously.

"Hey Annabeth, dear, how are you?"

"I'm good. How are you?"

"I'm fine. This is my husband Paul."

"Hi," Paul greeted warmly.

"Hi," Annabeth answered timidly.

"Glad that's out of the way," Annabeth heard Percy mutter under his breath.

She slapped him lightly on the leg and he shot her a grin.

"How long is the car journey?" Annabeth asked him.

"I don't know, I'll ask mom. Mom," he said, raising his voice slightly. "how far away is it?"

"About forty minutes, not that far."

"It is when you're stuck next to Percy," Annabeth joked to Percy.

Sally laughed at her comment and Annabeth blushed. She hadn't realised that they heard her.

A few minutes later, Paul and Sally were engaged in a conversation about Sally's newest book draft so Annabeth took the time to ask Percy a few questions.

"Tell me about the couple. What are they like?"

"They're not that much older than us I think, but they're very much in love."

"Aww..." Annabeth cooed.

"They met at a summer camp. They're both very nice and well-suited for each other."

"What about the ceremony. Where is it going to be held?"

"It's not a traditional wedding. They both have different religious beliefs so they're having a humanist wedding. It's going to be outdoors I think, but the food and dancing and everything else will be indoors."

"Oh that's so cool."

They moved onto other topics, like school and friends. At one point Annabeth felt eye on her and glanced up to see Sally smiling at her in the rear view mirror. Annabeth smiled back, slightly confused before focusing back on Percy.

* * *

 **So yes, a kind of filler chapter. I'm back at school, so that's awful. I've only been to one wedding and it was a humanist wedding. I'm not sure if my cousin or his wife weren't religious or if they had different religions but their wedding was very unique. I'm not an expert on humanist ceremonies though so sorry if I get some facts wrong.**

 **Also, Silena and Piper aren't half-sisters in this 'cause I felt Piper would be at the wedding an that would confuse things. But Drew and Silena _are_ so that will be fun.**

 **Hope I have a better chapter for you next time,**

 **Panda1912**


	11. Chapter 10- The Cousins

**Firstly, I'd like to apologize for how long this took to be written. I got writers' block and decided to write many Jily AUs to get over it. But you have** _herecomesthepun_ **to thank for this chapter because I just finished the latest chapter in her** _Silver Screen_ **fic and wanted to throw my phone out the window. It didn't help that I was listening to Gavin James's** _Hearts on Fire_ **while reading. But seriously check their fic out, it's so good and made me want to write some Percabeth fluff just to get over the latest chapter. Anyway, enough rambling.**

 **Panda1912**

* * *

They pulled up to the venue not long later. There was a marquee where they could see the guests mingling with drinks.

"Zeus Almighty," Annabeth said suddenly.

"Are you okay?" Percy asked concerned, indicating for his parents to continue on without them.

"Yeah. It's just so _real._ We're going to have to convince them that we're actually a couple. I can't do this."

"Of course you can. You're doing wonderfully so far. You managed to convince my best friends. The relatives that I barely know will be cinch."

"You sure?" Annabeth looked up at him, eyes wide.

"Yes. Now come on."

They both turned and headed into the marquee. Immediately, the warmth of the room hit them and Annabeth sighed, almost inaudibly. Percy smiled at her before wrapping an arm around her waist. They made their way deeper into the room to 'mingle'.

The feeling of Percy's arm around her waist was a weird one but Annabeth would be lying if she said it was uncomfortable. She collected her nerves and smiled as she engaged in a conversation with a second cousin of Percy's. He had a large extended family, she noticed, which did nothing to soothe her. She finished up the conversation and moved along with Percy as he joined Sally.

"Katherine," Sally said to the woman she was talking to, "this is Percy's girlfriend Annabeth. Annabeth this Katherine, Percy's aunt-in-law."

"Nice to meet you," Annabeth said politely.

"Sally! You never said Percy had a girlfriend!"

"Would you believe that I had to find out from Jason?"

"Zeus's Jason?"

Sally nodded.

"How come they're not here? Or Thalia?" Katherine asked.

"Well you know how removed Zeus is from the rest of the family. I doubt Silena's ever met the Graces."

Katherine nodded wisely, knowing all about Zeus and his ridiculous backwards ideas of family values.

"Your cousins are over there Percy. Did you say hi?" Sally asked her son, pausing her conversation with Katherine for a second.

"I will now," Percy replied.

Annabeth followed Percy to the corner of the marque to where there were a few teens their own age.

"This will a small bit harder. But you convinced Jason, you'll be fine," Percy murmured to her.

Annabeth just nodded.

"Hey guys," Percy began when he reached his cousins. "This is my girlfriend Annabeth."

There was a mini riot at the word 'girlfriend'.

"Girlfriend? Willingly?" one guy asked.

Annabeth was tempted to say no.

"Ha ha Leo," Percy replied deadpanned but his grip on Annabeth's waist had tightened slightly.

"Are you going to introduce me?" Annabeth asked teasingly.

"Oh right. This is Leo, that's Nico and his sister Hazel," Percy pointed at a younger boy wearing all black and a girl with golden eyes. Annabeth couldn't help but think how little they looked like siblings. Then again, Thalia and Jason didn't look related either.

"That's Hazel's boyfriend Frank," Percy said, pulling Annabeth back to the present. "That's Connor and Travis, they're not twins by the way, and that unfortunate soul," he began dramatically, indicating to the only other girl, "is Travis's girlfriend Katie."

Annabeth smiled, suddenly overwhelmed. These definitely _weren't_ the 'relatives that I barely know' that Percy had mentioned.

"I still can't believe you have a girlfriend man," Leo spoke up again.

"Shut up Valdez. You're just jealous 'cause you don't have one."

"Are we even sure she's real?" Leo squinted at her jokingly.

Annabeth looked around nervously but was reassured when she caught sight of Hazel smilling at her. Hazel seemed to notice her tension as well and called Annabeth over, patting the space on the couch next to her. Annabeth looked at Percy who nodded, silently telling her that she would be fine.

Annabeth left the comfort of Percy's side and joined Hazel on the couch.

"I need details," was what came out of the girl's mouth.

"Hazel!" Frank said in shock but Annabeth just laughed.

"It's fine," she said smiling, but her stomach was still a mess.

Connor had joined them by now, just as eager to hear the details while Percy was talking to Leo, Travis and Katie.

"So how do you know each other?" Hazel asked, more politely.

"We're in the same year at school. Thalia's my best friend."

"I've met Jason, but I've never met Thalia," Hazel said, almost wistfully.

"I have!" Connor jumped in. "She's scary man."

Annabeth could see where he was coming from but it was still weird.

"How long have you been going out?" asked Hazel.

Annabeth shot a rather desperate look towards Percy. She couldn't remember if this had been decided in the cover story.

* * *

 **Whoops, I'm a terrible fanfic writer who left you hanging, my bad. I'll try and get back on track but no promises!**


	12. Chapter 11- Question Time!

**Hey guys! We currently have a snowstorm-thing happening. Yesterday the snow was all lovely and powdery but today it was mostly sludge so I came inside earlier and warmed up.**

 **Plenty of awkward Percabeth and questions from cousins in this chapter!**

 **Panda1912**

* * *

The wedding got easier from there. Percy's cousins were actually a lot of fun and they laughed about many things, making crude observations from their corner of the gazeebo.

"I bet you two dollars that Auntie May will go to the bathroom in the next two minutes," Leo announced.

"Who are you betting?" Connor asked, interested.

"Whoever wants to get in. Anyone who goes for it will have to pay me two dollars of I'm right. But if I'm wrong, I'll pay _all_ betters two dollars. Fair?"

Connor nodded, amused.

"Who wants in?" Leo asked, grinning.

Connor, Travis, Hazel and Nico all raised their hands. A few seconds later, so did Katie. The others looked surprised.

"What?" Katie asked, looking at their shocked faces. "There is no way that Leo could know that. Easy money."

Percy shook his head.

"They're idiots," he murmured to Annabeth. "You're all idiots," he repeated louder for the benefit of the whole group.

"What do you mean?" Annabeth looked questioningly at Percy.

"Never make a bet with Leo, he has surprisingly good accuracy when it comes to weird crap like this."

Annabeth glanced up at Percy, confused.

"Watch," he whispered.

A few seconds later, Leo let out a quiet "ha!"

The gang all turned to him.

"There goes Auntie May, off to the bathrooms."

They all looked around at the same time and saw that Leo was right.

"Aww, dude!" Connor whinged. "I don't know whether to be disgusted or impressed."

"Yeah, man, how did you even know that?" Travis asked him.

"That's Auntie May's sixth glass of champagne. And that is good champagne."

"Gross," Annabeth said quietly, wrinkling her nose.

Percy laughed at her comment, bumping her side.

The rest of the wedding was smooth sailing from there. None of Percy's relatives asked too many questions about their 'relationship'. They asked her about herself, her family and her hobbies but Annabeth didn't mind that so much. Dinner was her favourite part of the day, no doubt. All the cousins and their plus- ones sat around one large round table and it was guaranteed the funniest meal of Annabeth's life. Travis and Connor told the best stories along with Leo, who had the greatest one liners for everything.

The wedding toasts were great as well, even though Annabeth didn't always know what they were talking about. It was clear to see that the couple were in love. The food was to die for and Annabeth couldn't help but think that if she ever got married, she'd want it to be as perfect as this one.

"How are Thalia and Jason?" Hazel asked, her question directed at Percy and Annabeth. "I haven't seen them in a while."

"Pretty good," Annabeth answered for the two of them as Percy's mouth was currently full of food. "Nothing too dramatic happening with them."

"That's good," Hazel smiled prettily.

"So we've heard all the Frazel stories, and the Tratie stories. Now we need to hear yours," Leo said, leaning back in his seat.

"I'm sorry?" Annabeth asked confused.

"Frazel," Leo repeated, pointing at Frank and Hazel, "Tratie," he continued, pointing at Travis and Katie. "Now we need..." he paused for a second, clearly thinking.

"Percabeth!" Hazel broke in.

Percy shot Hazel a glare but the girl just shrugged. Annabeth gaped at the table, not really sure what to do or say. She turned to Percy in question.

"We make the couple tell us stories and stuff about each other and how they got together and other funny things. It's usually fun but now we're on the receiving end."

"Not as fun, is it?" Travis asked teasingly, obviously having gone through it himself.

Katie shot Annabeth a genuinely sorry look.

"Do your worst," Percy just said, defeated.

Annabeth shot him a glare.

"Or not," she said, still glaring at him.

Leo cracked an evil grin.

"We know you're in the same year at school but how did you end up dating?" he asked.

"Well," Annabeth decided to take this one. Knowing Percy, he'd come up with something ridiculous. "Our groups have a kind of rivalry, I suppose. Pulling pranks and that sort of thing. Percy and I have lockers next to each other. One day he asked me to meet him at the library during lunch. I went there and he asked me out."

She shrugged slightly, not really sure what to say.

"Boo!" Travis, Connor and Leo all said at the same time, attracting the attention of surrounding tables.

"Shh!" Percy said, leaning in to the table.

"So you just suddenly decided to ask her out?" Leo asked, unimpressed.

Percy shrugged. The two of them seemed to be doing that a lot.

"How long did you like each other?" Hazel asked, leaning forward on her elbows eagerly.

"Umm..."

Percy and Annabeth looked at each other.

"A while," Percy decided.

The others still looked unimpressed.

"I guess I just realised that I liked pranking her so much because I loved her reactions. It kind of hit me then."

Annabeth turned to Percy, surprised. She wasn't expecting such a reason, especially since it sounded almost _genuine_.

"What about you Annabeth?"

"Huh?" she asked, coming out of her stupor.

"If Percy kept pranking, how come you said yes?"

"I don't know, really. Whenever Percy _wasn't_ being a twat, we got along quite well."

"Hey!" Percy said, sounding affronted.

"You are a bit of a twat Percy," Annabeth told him lightly.

"I'm your boyfriend!" he said, still offended.

Annabeth patted his shoulder comfortingly. Percy cracked a smile.

"At least I never made you vomit," he pointed out.

"Oh my gods, that was _one_ time!" Annabeth replied.

The rest of the table laughed.

"Wait, you said you got along well. When did you actually start liking him?" Katie asked, sounding genuinely interested.

"Yeah Annabeth, when did you actually start liking me?" Percy asked, smiling smugly.

Annabeth froze and flushed.

"I'm not really sure. Maybe I still don't." Annabeth wiggled her eyebrows mysteriously, hoping no one would realise that she had no clue what to answer.

Percy burst out laughing.

"You look ridiculous when you do that with your eyebrows."

"What? This?" Annabeth asked innocently, before waggling her eyebrows again.

* * *

 **I'm going to end the chapter there. I might have another set at the wedding or I might just time skip to afterwards.**

 **If you want me to set another at the wedding, let me know. Also, comment any questions you want one of the cousins to ask Percabeth.**

 **So what did you think? A lot of fluff, I know, but I hoped you enjoyed it!**

 **Panda1912**


	13. Chapter 12- The Set- Up

**I've changed the style of texting so let me know what you think.**

 **I'm quite proud at how quick I updated. Some of you wanted a longer chapter but alas, this one is also short. _But_ this is updated two days after the last one so I'm okay with it's length. Also, the end of this chapter makes me squeal so yay!**

 **Went to my cousins today and wrote most of this on the way up. I wasn't sure whether to set it at the wedding or not so I compromised.**

 **Also, over 50 reviews! That's insane. I almost have 8k views! Thank you guys so much!**

 **Panda1912**

* * *

It was in the car coming back that Annabeth plucked up the courage to ask Percy a question that had been preying on her mind.

"Percy?" she asked tentatively.

"Yeah?"

"What was it Silena said to you?"

After the dinner, the bride had come up to the table to thank her guest for coming.

"Silena, you look amazing!" Hazel had said.

"It's a beautiful wedding," Travis had chimed in.

"Thanks guys! I'm so glad it went off without a hitch," Silena beamed at them.

The bride looked around the table and caught sight of Annabeth.

"And who's this?"

Connor jumped in.

"This is Annabeth, Percy's _girlfriend_ ," he sniggered.

Silena smacked Percy on the arm.

"You never said!" she exclaimed.

"Yeah, join the club of _everyone else_ ," Nico said.

"Including Sally," Leo added, grinning.

"Percy!" Silena looked scandalised.

Percy hung his head in shame and Annabeth couldn't help but laugh at him. Percy looked up, caught her eye and grinned at her.

Silena bent her head slightly and glanced at Annabeth to make sure she wasn't listening.

"I like her Percy. This is the happiest I've seen you in a while and you're _always_ happy. And I don't think it's just because of where we are and because of your cousins. It's her."

Percy had flushed and glanced up at his cousin. He was _always_ happy, as she had pointed out. He didn't feel any happier than usual.

"Trust me," was all the bride had said, before winking and straightening up and winking at him.

Percy blushed slightly, remembering it now in the car.

"Just how happy she was," he said in an attempt at fake- nonchalance.

"Oh, so she didn't mention me at all?" Annabeth teased him.

"Well, yeah," Percy admitted, "just the usual stuff, y'know?"

Annabeth nodded slightly, before kicking off her shoes and resting her feet on Percy's lap. He looked at them, scandalised.

"Your feet stink!" he complained.

"Get over it," Annabeth said before snuggling down in the seat slightly.

Percy rolled his eyes.

* * *

 _ **Annabeth**_ **to** ** _Pipes_**

 **Me:** _Just home now_

 **Pipes:** _How was it? I hope you have a picture for me!_

 **Me:** _A picture?_

 **Pipes:** _Of you and Percy_

 **Me:** [Image attachment] _Sally took it..._

 **Pipes:** _Awww! Percy looks so dapper!_

 **Me:** _Dapper?_

 **Pipes:** _Fancy._

 **Pipes:** You're _so cute, you're even matching._

 **Me:** _Did you just call me and Percy 'cute'?_

 **Pipes:** _Yeah! Look at you two. I'm sending this to Thalia_

 **Me:** _Oh gods_

 **Me:** I'm _going to bed, I'm exhausted._

 ** _Annabeth_ to _My Beautiful Boyfriend_**

 **Me:** _Piper thinks you looked 'dapper' in your suit_

 **My Beautiful Boyfriend:** _Jealous much?_

 **Me:** _I can just imagine that you're wiggling your eyebrows right now_

 **My Beautiful Boyfriend:** _Then you would be correct_

 **Me:** _You're ridiculous_

Annabeth plugged in her phone and got changed for bed.

* * *

To say that Annabeth was glad that today was Sunday would be an understatement. She was still completely worn out from the wedding the day before.

 _ **Percy**_ **to** ** _My Gorgeous Girlfriend_**

 **Me:** _Do you want to help me with a mission?_

 **My Gorgeous Girlfriend:** _That sounds like a lot of effort_

 **Me:** _It involves_ _Piper and Jason..._

 **My Gorgeous Girlfriend:** _I'm listening_

 **Me:** _Bring Piper and Thalia to the park at around 1-ish_

 **My Gorgeous Girlfriend:** _Thalia as well?_

 **Me:** _Looks less suspicious that way_

 **My Gorgeous Girlfriend:** _Okay_

 ** _Annabeth_ to _Pipes_ and _Thals_**

 **Me:** _Let's meet up today_

 **Pipes:** _Sure! W_ _here and when?_

 **Me:** _Park at quarter to one?_

 **Pipes:** _I'll see you then_

 **Me:** _Thals?_

 **Thalia:** _Sure_

Annabeth grinned evilly.

* * *

"You two set this up!" Thalia exclaimed pointing at Annabeth and Percy.

It was about ten past one and the two groups were at the park. Percy had his arm thrown around Annabeth to seem more couple-y in front of his friends.

"Yes," Annabeth grinned, "but not for us."

Annabeth nodded her head slightly, towards Piper and Jason who were laughing at something Piper had said.

"Not bad," Thalia said, impressed.

"Hey Annabeth?" Grover called her over.

Annabeth left Percy's side to talk to Grover.

"Hey Grover, what's up?"

"Not a thing in the world, I just wanted to ask you something."

"Go ahead," Annabeth replied, confused.

"You'll be careful with Percy, won't you?"

Annabeth frowned, even more confused.

"It's just, he's liked you for a long time and I don't want to see him get hurt."

"Wait what? Did you say he's liked me for a long time?" Annabeth asked.

Grover nodded.

"He says he hasn't and I don't even think he realised it. I'm very good at reading his emotions though, because we've known each other for so long. He still denies it now," Grover chuckled.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, I said Jason's crush on Piper was as obvious as his crush on you. I thought he'd be more willing to admit it, now that you're dating but he just got really defensive and confused, y'know? But anyway, just don't hurt him, will you?" Grover looked pleading at her.

"I won't, don't worry," Annabeth smiled back.

* * *

 **Short enough chapter, I know, but it was quite quick after the last update. What did you think? Ohhh I ship Percabeth so hard, it's ridiculous!**

 **Panda1912**


	14. Chapter 13- The Dork and the Nerd

**Who's the worst fanfiction author in the world? That's me!**

 **Things have gotten very hectic recently. I lost my phone a few weeks ago and I still haven't found it. I went to my granny's for Easter and she has no internet. Also, Macklemore came to Ireland and I went to see him up in Dublin. It was amazing.**

 **Please don't kill me for being _really_ late on the update. **

**Does anyone have any song recommendations? I need new music...**

 **Panda1912**

* * *

The mission at the park had been a success. Piper and Jason weren't going out just yet but Percy knew it was only a matter of time. The six of them ended up hanging out all afternoon in the ice-cream parlour across from the park. Percy and Annabeth still had to put up appearances for his friend's but other than that, the afternoon was practically normal.

"Well Annabeth, I think that went very well," Percy said to her as they waited in line to order.

Annabeth smirked at Percy in reply.

When they had come into the parlour, Annabeth and Percy sat down immediately to save the group a booth. As soon as Thalia and Grover sat down with their ice-creams, the 'couple' went up to order, meaning they were at the back of the queue. Every so often they would shuffle forward slightly, but the queue was taking a long time.

"I know. They were taking so many pictures with that stupid dog filter that Piper likes so much."

Percy laughed then gasped over-dramatically.

"I just realised that I don't think I have you on SnapChat," he said.

Annabeth frowned, thinking.

"That's actually true. We've just been texting normally. That's so weird," she answered finally.

"What's your username?" Percy asked, taking out his phone.

"It's _achase,_ no caps or spaces or anything."

"Mine is _pj_jackson._ I just added you there."

Annabeth took out her phone, unlocked it and went into SnapChat. She added Percy back and turned to him.

"Now the real question, what should I change your name to?"

"'My one true love'," Percy said jokingly, swooning exaggeratingly.

"Haha," Annabeth replied deadpanned. "You're such a dork."

Suddenly her face lit up.

"That's it. Your going in as 'dork'," she said teasingly.

Percy gasped in mock offence.

"You wouldn't!"

"Just did," she said smugly, waving her phone in front of his nose.

Without warning, he grabbed the phone from her and pressed the button to edit his name.

"No, don't change it," she complained.

"Fine. But I _am_ adding a heart emoji," he compromised.

"Which one?" she asked, complaining.

"The double heart, that pink one," he said, finding it in the keyboard. "Done."

He handed her phone back to her and she slipped it into her back pocket.

"Now what about me? What's my name going to be?"

"Easy. If I'm a dork, then you're a nerd," Percy said.

Annabeth stuck her tongue out at him.

"What silly emoji do you want?" he asked.

"Show me?" she said, taking his phone from him.

She scrolled past a series of heart emojis.

"You're taking this way too seriously," he informed her.

She wrinkled her nose at him in return, before continuing with her quest to find the perfect heart emoji. She eventually chose the 'revolving hearts' emoji.

"It was between that and the heart-eye emoji," she told him.

"Oh yes, because I definitely have been giving you heart eyes," he replied sarcastically.

"According to Grover, you have," Annabeth teased.

"What?!"

"Yep. He says you have had a crush on me for a long time," she continued.

"Since when?!" Percy asked, outraged.

Annabeth laughed.

"He even said that he doesn't think you even realised that you had a crush on me because you still deny it 'til this very day."

Percy looked at her in confusion before something dawned on him.

"Maybe that's what he meant in the cafeteria the other day, when he said that Jason's crush on Piper was as obvious as mine on you," he said slowly.

Annabeth nodded in amusement.

"But wait, didn't you also say that your friends were acting similar? Maybe they think you have a crush on me?" Percy said, half joking, half not.

"But they know that we're not actually a couple," Annabeth said frowning.

"Which is why this is so amazing," Percy said, triumphantly. "Annabeth Chase, my fake girlfriend, has a crush on me and even her best friends know it."

"Oh, shut up," Annabeth said, pushing Percy slightly. "I think we can both agree that our friends are insane if they think we actually like each other."

Percy nodded in agreement, laughter still in his eyes.

"I can see Jason thinking that we like each other. That's logical because he thinks we're daring. But Piper and Thalia know we're not going out and for Grover to say I've liked you for a while..."

Percy trailed off and shook his head. Annabeth nodded.

"Next please," the woman at the till said.

"That's us," Percy said to Annabeth, stepping forward.

"Can I have two scoops of blueberry ice-cream please?" he asked.

The woman nodded, putting this into the screen. Percy turned to Annabeth.

"I'll have two scoops of lemon, thank you." Annabeth told her.

The woman nodded again before telling them the total price. Annabeth rummaged in her purse for coins but Percy stopped her before taking a fairly crumpled ten dollar bill out of his pocket. He paid and took the change, shoving it in his pocket.

"Thank you, but I had the money," Annabeth told him.

"What sort of boyfriend would I be then?" he asked her.

"A fake one?" she replied, eyebrow raised.

"Touché," he admitted, handing her the tub of lemon ice-cream. "You can get the next one."

"The next one?" she asked.

"Well now that our friends have properly been acquainted, I'll expect more ice-cream outings."

Annabeth laughed and the two weaved between the crowd, heading to the booth where their friends were sitting.

"Fine. But I'm definitely paying next time and nothing you say or do will change that."

"I'll hold you to that," Percy said.

The two of them slid into the booth, facing each other.

"Thank gods you came," Thalia said to her. "Poor Grover and I can't take much more of them."

Annabeth laughed.

"They can't be that bad," she replied to her best friend, who she was sitting next to.

"Oh really? I've tried to get Piper's attention _three_ times to ask of I could try her blueberry ice-cream and she never even noticed."

"You can try some of my ice-cream if you want," Percy offered, holding out the tub to his cousin.

"Thank you," Thalia said, digging her little spoon into the side of one of his scoops.

"I can't wait until they get together because then they might start joining in on the conversation," Grover said.

"I'm not sure that's how it works," Percy said.

"Nah, you watch. If they start dating, and they will, they'll eventually stop making googly eyes at each other and actually talk to us."

"I hope you're right," Thalia said. "They're quite sickening."

* * *

 **I hope you enjoyed the chapter. I know it was only a filler chapter but I put as much Percabeth fluff into it as I possibly could. Besides, this fanfic isn't going to be an angsty fake date au. Like I said in the description, it's mostly just fluff.**

 **Hope you enjoyed and hopefully my next chapter will be quicker updated.**

 **For now,**

 **Panda1912**


	15. Chapter 14- Struggle

"When are you going to man up and do it?"

It was the first lunch break of the day. The boys were sat in their usual seats at the cafeteria.

"Do what?" Jason asked in reply to Percy's question.

"Ask her out," Percy said.

"Who?"

"Piper!" Grover replied this time, like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Oh, that," Jason said, his cheeks colouring.

"Yes 'that'. It's obvious you like her man, don't even attempt to suggest otherwise. Why haven't you asked her out yet?" Percy asked.

"I don't even know if she likes me back," Jason argued.

"Percy could ask Annabeth," Grover offered.

"No! Don't do that, it'll make it way too obvious," Jason argued again.

"Right," Percy snorted. " _That's_ going to make your crush obvious."

"Shut up," Jason grumbled.

"Besides, I can do it in private. Piper doesn't even have to _know_ I asked Annabeth."

"Fine," Jason sighed.

"Yes!" Grover and Percy said in unison, high-fiving.

"And if Annabeth says Piper likes you, you _have_ to ask her out, okay?"

"Okay," Jason said, grinning slightly.

* * *

On the other side of the cafeteria, much the same was happening.

"I saw you and my brother were getting pretty close yesterday," Thalia was saying as they slipped into their seats.

"Shut up, we were just talking," Piper replied, blushing.

"Why don't you ask him out?" Annabeth asked, also joining into the conversation.

"Not you too!" Piper cried.

Annabeth grinned almost evilly.

"So why _don't_ you ask him out?" Thalia asked again.

"Guys, we're just friends. He doesn't like me, I don't like him."

"Okay," Thalia said sceptically. "But I know my brother."

"Yeah," Annabeth added. "Besides, Percy _and_ Grover have told me on two separate occasions that they think he fancies you."

Piper blushed even darker.

"Okay," she announced.. "I'll ask him out. But I swear to gods if he says no, I'll stab both of you."

The other two girls immediately raised their hands in surrender.

"Calm down, this will work," Annabeth laughed.

At that moment, Percy walked up to their table.

"Hey Beth, can I borrow you for a minute? It's about the mission."

"What mission?" Piper asked, confused.

Percy just winked at Piper and waited for Annabeth to stand up from her seat.

"I'll be back in two minutes," she said to her friends. "Try to keep Thalia from stealing too many of my wedges, will you Piper?"

With that, the two exited the cafeteria.

"What's up?" Annabeth asked as the stopped next to a group of lockers.

"Tell me honestly, does Piper like Jason?"

"I thought that was obvious. Why?" she frowned.

"He said that if I can confirm that from you, he'll go ask her out."

"Too late," Annabeth laughed.

"What? Why?"

Now it was Percy's turn to look confused. Annabeth laughed again.

"We convinced Piper to ask him out."

"You did? That's amazing!"

"But if he says no, she's going to stab us both."

"Tragic."

"Hey! If I'm dead, who will be your girlfriend?"

"I'm kidding, I'm kidding!"

"You better be! Just make sure he doesn't say no, alright?"

Percy nodded and the two headed back to the cafeteria. Percy pulled open the door and allowed Annabeth through first. They smiled almost evilly at each other then split off in separate directions.

"Sorry about that," Annabeth said as she plonked down in her seat again. "Hey! All my wedges are gone!"

"I tried," Piper shrugged, looking slightly guilty.

"You had some!" Annabeth gasped, pointing accusingly at her friend.

"Only a few," Piper said. "Thalia had the rest!"

Thalia didn't look guilty in the slightest.

"Annabeth?" Thalia asked slowly. "I thought you didn't like nicknames or abbreviations of your name."

"I don't, why?" Annabeth asked, frowning.

"Nothing," Thalia replied.

But Annabeth didn't miss the look that passed between Thalia and Piper.

* * *

It had already been a week and a bit since Percy had asked Annabeth to be his girlfriend, and she had to admit that it wasn't as bad as she had originally thought. When she had agreed to be Percy's fake girlfriend, she thought it would be torture and that she would regret saying yes almost immediately.

But so far... so far she was actually have a small bit of fun. Not that she would ever tell Percy that.

She didn't like the lying. She didn't mind the general public, since it didn't seem so personal to her if they thought that she was going out with Percy. But every conversation with Grover or Jason made her stomach twist.

But if it weren't for this little lie, she probably would've spent the rest of high school hating Percy Jackson. And she hated to admit that he was _right_. They _were_ friends. She actually had so much fun bantering with Percy; it was crazy.

Annabeth shook her head and focused on the history homework in front of her. Her ADHD was her worst enemy sometimes, when homework wasn't interesting enough to hold her attention. It didn't help that she was tired and that the letters were already swimming in front of her.

Annabeth couldn't help but hope that after all this was over, she and Percy would still remain friends. She had great fun laughing and joking with Thalia and Piper, but something about her and Percy's teasing was addicting.

Annabeth shook her head again before she began thinking that she actually _liked_ Percy like that. Annabeth shivered, effectively ending that train of thought before it went further and concentrated once again on the homework in front of her.

But the thought had already lodged itself in her mind, niggling away at her until she shut her book in frustration. There was _no_ _way_ that she liked Percy Jackson in a romantic way. She enjoyed herself around him, yes, and he _was_ attractive. But so was Piper and Annabeth didn't have a crush on _her._

* * *

 **Right. Has it been long? I feel like it hasn't been _too_ long, but not short enough either. Hope you enjoyed this, especially Annabeth's little internal conflict at the end. **

**I've written a Percabeth oneshot called 'Confusion' if you want to check that out.**

 **Xoxo,**

 **Panda1912**


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